I could have done without the jocks but I also think they served their purpose well.
This.
Maybe I'm getting more cynical, or noticing more stuff, but I felt the writing this season was a little lazy. There seemed to be too many unsubtle "plot devices" that drove the story when I think more creative writing could have told the story more cleanly.
I think the jocks detracted from the story and the story could have moved fairly well without them. Eddie could have been in hiding from the cops without having a separate group of "bad guys" out there hunting them.
One that I noticed in the last episode that really bugged me was when Robin decided to randomly sprint ahead in the upside down so from a story perspective Steve and Nancy could have some alone time to talk about their feelings. When their talk was done Robin conveniently came running back. I thought this was exceptionally lazy writing. The writers found a perfect spot for Will and Mike to have a heart to heart in the van, and Hopper and Joyce to connect in the prison, but the Robin/Nancy/Steve interaction was lazy.
I'm probably nit picking too much, but I thought the previous seasons were excellent. This one was still entertaining, but slipped a bit in its execution including the addition of the jocks.